Effects of Dietary Fiber and Grit on Performance, Gastrointestinal Tract Development, Lipometabolism, and Grit Retention of Goslings

This study investigated effects of dietary fibre and grit on growth performance, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, serum indexes and grit retention of Sichuan white goslings in China. The experiment was a 3×2 factorial design consisting of dietary crude fibre (CF) at 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0% levels by adding grass meal and with or without grit supplementation. A total of 7201-d-old male goslings were randomly allocated into 36 pens of 20 goslings/pen (n=6 pens/treatment). At 21 d of age, GIT, blood samples and grit in gizzards were collected. Body weight (BW), empty BW (without GIT), average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were affected by CF levels and the medium (4.0%) had the highest value. Adding grit improved BW, empty BW, ADG and ADFI. CF affected relative weight or length of proventriculus, gizzard and duodenum. Increasing CF levels decreased jejunum villus height and affected caecal crypt depth and villus height to crypt depth ratio. Higher CF levels decreased serum triglyceride. Adding grit increased relative weight of abdominal fat. Grit addition increased grit weight in gizzard and the ratio of grit in 0.45-1 and 1-2 mm while decreasing the ratio of grit <0.45 and 2-3 mm. In conclusion, moderate CF level and grit addition increased performance of goslings without interaction. Dietary CF levels affected the development of upper GIT and serum triglyceride. Grit needed by goslings should be less than 2 mm. Goslings' gizzard would accumulate grit from feed when other grit could not be acquired.